Governor Northam Defends Comments on Late-Term Abortions

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam says a comment he made about late-term abortions was taken out of context, but is standing firmly by what he said.

Thursday, January 31st 2019, 5:40 PM EST

Updated:

Thursday, January 31st 2019, 6:45 PM EST

Edited by Chris Markham

Governor Northam stood with top Virginia Democrats to defend comments he made on late-term abortions.

RICHMOND, Va. (WVIR) -
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam says a comment he made about late-term abortions was taken out of context, but is standing firmly by what he said.

On Wednesday during a radio interview, Northam defended efforts to loosen abortion restrictions. Northam described a hypothetical situation where a severely deformed newborn infant could be left to die. Northam said that if a woman were to desire an abortion as she is going into labor, the baby would be “resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired.”

Top Republicans, including Florida Senator Mark Rubio, quickly denounced Northam’s comments. Rubio said, in part, that he never thought he’d see the day when government officials supported legal infanticide. President Trump also called Northam’s comment “terrible.”

During a press conference on Thursday, Northam stood amongst some of the state’s top Democrats as he defended his stance on abortion. He said that the whole thing was blown out of proportion.

“I don’t have any regrets, but I do regret how my comments have been mischaracterized,” Northam said on Thursday. “I really find the personal insults to be disgusting. We can agree to disagree, but let’s be civil about it.”

The changes to legislation that Northam and other Democrats were pushing for also included reducing the number of doctors required to certify late-term abortions from three to one. The push was tabled by a House subcommittee on Monday.

"I think all of us would agree that we are always willing to look at legislation, make improvements, have discussions, but let's do it in good faith," Northam said.

Northam said third trimester abortions are rare and only performed in cases of severe abnormalities.